Interesting Stories about Curious Words Quotes

“Tabby Originally the name of a silk material with a ‘watered’ surface, giving an effect of wavy lines. This was later applied to a brownish cat with dark stripes, because its markings resemble this material. The ultimate source of the name is in Arabic al-’attabiya, literally ‘quarter of (Prince) ‘Attab’, this being the district of Baghdad where the fabric was first made.”
― Susie Dent, Interesting Stories about Curious Words: From Stealing Thunder to Red Herrings